Highway’s England makes £114 million pledge to improve roads in East of England

Well-known motorways and major A roads including the M11, A14, A1, A47 and A12 will all benefit from the planned package of enhancements, with road resurfacing, bridge joint replacements, the creation of cycle lanes, improved signage and landscaping all set to take place.

In total, Highways England will invest more than £114 million into 150 schemes across Norfolk, Sussex, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire.

Highways England’s regional director for the East of England Martin Fellows said:

Keeping our roads in good condition is essential for safety and in ensuring the reliability of journeys for drivers. This multi-million-pound investment will help keep journeys on our motorways and A roads flowing and reduce the risk of unplanned, disruptive maintenance.

Over the next 12 months, we’ll be working hard to ensure drivers throughout the East enjoy a smoother experience while travelling on our roads.

Highways England will begin work on their comprehensive maintenance programme in the coming months, with schemes including:

A14 Brickfield bridge

Replacing the existing bridge joint bearings, carrying out concrete repairs, resurfacing the road and renewing the road markings.

M11 junction 11 Mill bridge

Replacing four bridge joints, re-waterproofing the bridge deck and repainting the bearings.

A14 junction 32 Histon

Replacing all road markings and studs where resurfacing has taken place.

M11 River Granta bridge

Replace two bridge joints, re-waterproofing the bridge deck and resurface.

This latest investment into the regions roads follows on from last year’s essential maintenance programme which saw Highways England pump £60 million into the completion of 140 road renewal and maintenance projects.

Throughout last year, Highways England laid more than 35,000 tonnes of surfacing material across the East of England – the equivalent of 175 blue whales. This allowed for 43 lane miles of resurfacing. A further 50,000 road studs were set into the region’s roads, helping to light up the way for drivers. Other improvements include:

• more than 80 traffic signs installed
• 17 junctions improved
• 16 bridge joints installed
• 2.7 miles worth of cycle lane improvements

Many of our upcoming improvement schemes will have no impact on drivers during construction. However, some might require lane closures, overnight closures or road closures, although disruption will be kept to a minimum.